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Why aren't movie schedules made only a couple days at a time? How are they decided?

Asked by anonymous over 4 years ago

All decision for what movies are kept and what movies are brought in to a theater are made on Mondays and are based on the weekend results. For instance, the movie Frozen has been so successful that we have kept in for far longer than we anticipated. Our booker managed to get Disney to allow us to split showtimes with another movie for the past 2 weeks. The success of Frozen has thrown a wrench into our anticipated bookings because we never know until Monday what studioes will agree to splitting showtimes or allowing us to dump their movie. Generally speaking, Studios expect a theater to keep a movie that has does well that weekend.

So, I may start making a schedule a week or two in advance but can't really submit until we have everything confirmed a few days in advance.

What's the markup on the concessions you sell? And what's the approx breakdown of how much of your annual revenues come from ticket sales vs. concessions?

Asked by Davis411 over 4 years ago

I'm always surprised how few people understand this. The movies are not ours. They are the studios(Disney, Fox, Lionsgate,etc). Almost all of the ticket cost goes back to the movie studio. Therefore the only ways for theaters to make money is at the concession stand. Revenue is about 65% ticket sales, but actual profit is about 90% from c oncessions.

Have you ever had an actor who was starring in a movie come to watch the movie in your theater and/or do like a Q&A with the audience?

Were you a movie buff before owning your own theater? Is this like a dream come true for you, or is the work mostly dull?

Asked by HFH over 4 years ago

I never considered myself a movie buff, but have always enjoyed movies. Its seems way cooler than it actually is. Its a very tough business, but its nice to have a new product to sell every week and I certainly have learned so many new skills dealing with the many issues that come up all the time.

Dumb question but can ANYONE open and run a movie theater? Or do you need a special kind of permit or zoning rights?

Asked by lola over 4 years ago

ANyone can open a movie theater, BUT you would need to have someone with experience to help figure things out. You need a booker to book movies. You need digital projectors and servers. You need to understand how to pay the studios. You need to figure out how to get movie times submitted online and to newspapers. You need to order 3D glasses. You need a POS system designed for movie theaters. You need to find a supplier for all your concession products.

The list goes on and on, but no special permit is needed. Commercial zoning is fine for a theater.